hi i'm new here and i'm thinking of buying a 93-95 rx7.
i drove a 5spd 5 months ago and since then i was trying to sell my 2000 celica(with a 60 shot of NOS) and buy a 7.
are the autos realy bad? is it as bad as a 4 cylender with an automatic(no torque)?
or is it as good as the auto on the supra?
thanks

 

my first fd was an auto. it was a fast car and would give anyone a good run for sure but it just felt like you and the car were not conected. i sold my 94 and a few months later found a 93 5 speed and have not looked back. my auto had a street ported motor and this car that i have now is stock other than a down pipe and it feels so much faster. if i were u i would hold out for a stick! you will be so much more satisified with your purchase.

 

why did they even make auto FDs??

 

I go street racing in the hills on winding roads with fellow RX7 owners and Porsche Boxter, 911 S, M roadster, Eclipse Turbo etc, all 5 speed. I have never had a problem keeping up or beating any of them with my FD auto. Since these are all 1 lane roads, I don't run head to head with others and I can only measure my distance away or following others.

I just don't like having to mess with a stick all the time. I drive normal speed 90% of the time and I drive like a cop in pursuit 10% of the time. To me, the 0.5-0.7 0-60 time isn't worth messing with, especially in traffic and on hills.

Autos are made for drivers like me I guess. I don't think there is anything wrong with autos. Do you drive that fast everyday and shift correctly 100% of the time? Do you do heel and toe?

I guess if you want 100% performance that the car can offer, go with a 5 speed. However, I don't think it's that big of a deal. With an auto, I can consistantly drive fast and not to have to worry about making sure I shift at the best point. This way, I can keep my focus on traffic and my lines of travel during road racing. 90% of drivers on road think they are good drivers. The fact is, most don't even know how to extract more than 70% potential out of their cars. Autos work well with a turbo car to keep the boost up. On 5 spd, you boost drops during shifting. This is why some say that an auto Supra is faster than a 6 spd Supra. This is unfortunately not true with an FD...

I do agree that you get more control and performance out of a 5speed. But, people who talk down on an auto probably have not driven one either. (No flames intended)

Look at it this way, just about all exotic cars except Viper, Saleen S7, Diablo and McLaren have an auto on them now. This includes 360 Modena, 911 TT!

 

O, I forgot to mention that the difference in power between a 5 spd and auto is different between an FD and a Civic, for example.

On an economy car, low end power just doesn't exist. You have to rev up to get the car moving. Therefore, a 5spd gives you more control to keep the rev up and the power flowing. This is the reason why S2000 comes with only a stick. (S2000 isn't an econo box I know but it delivers the point I am making).

With over 200 ft-lb on board, the FD is the most torquey RX7. Therefore, an auto will launch pretty darn fast, enough to embarrass a Boxter S with a 5 spd. I don't care what the mags say. They do burnt out and drop the clutch, which no one does on the street if they had a $50k car. With my auto, I can launch easily and not have to worry about my clutch or trans needing to be replaced!

 

I agree with djantlive. I can concentrate on driving the car to the max without worrying about shifting. Where I live there are a lot of curvy deserted roads, except obstacles like deer and coyote. The auto has not been a disappointment.

Another advantage of an auto is when I was looking for a used FD the autos were much tighter and less abused than the 5 speeds. I drove several of both and decided I liked the auto best. I didn't plan to make any major mods besides reliability mods, exhaust, and suspension. So I don't have a great deal of horsepower, yet it is all I need for the street.

 

what kind of 1/4 mile times should i expect from an auto? and will it be fast with the basic mods?(intake,ex,pulleys)
what is the stall RPM on the auto trany?

 

Add about 1 second to the 5 speed 1/4 mile times for an auto so about 14.1-14.9 depending on driver and condition of the car. The auto's stall speed is 3,000 RPM stock. The car will take mods well up to a point, but there will be more drivetrain loss and it can't handle more than about 300 horses before the tranny starts to break. Level 10 makes some upgrades for it, but they have had some mixed reviews. I have an auto, but I'm planning a 5 speed swap for over the winter.